1. Field of the Invention
The invention in general relates to exercise apparatuses that enable users to exercise and strengthen certain muscle groups, and more particularly to enable users to exercise and strengthen the abdominal muscles. The invention relates to a compact abdominal exercise apparatus that provides quick-change resistance and allows the user to perform abdominal crunches either in the seated or supine position.
2. Statement of the Problem
Compact abdominal exercise apparatuses that include resistive force have been known for forty years. These apparatuses typically include a resistive member that is located between a handle member and a support member. Typically, a user is in a seated position when operating these apparatuses. In this position, the support member of these apparatuses is typically placed on top of or below a user""s thigh and the handle member is grasped by a user""s hands. A user exerts force downward on the handle member causing compression of the resistive member and thereby exercising their abdominal muscles in the process. Further, the handle members position the user""s hands in a non-ergonomical position, such as horizontal.
All known prior art compact abdominal exercise apparatuses placed the hand positions at a height that didn""t enable effective ergonomic crunches by the user. These apparatuses typically place the hands of the user in an elevated position approximately equal to chin or head height. In this context, xe2x80x9ccrunchxe2x80x9d refers to the motion in which the trunk of the human body is raised from a supine position, while the spine is flexed so that the anterior portion of the spine is convex, with the legs remaining straight or bent. A crunch motion needs to be straight downward, thereby isolating abdominal muscles from hip flexors and back muscles. Otherwise, the hip flexors and back muscles are contributing to the exertive force and the abdominal muscle groups are not isolated and exercised independently. The range of travel for many of the prior art compact abdominal exercising apparatuses is generally too much to be conducive to a short crunch of the abdominal muscles.
These apparatuses typically include a resistive member that is some variation of a springing mechanism. When these springing mechanisms are located on the outside of a sliding assembly, the user is in constant jeopardy of being pinched by the springing mechanism during exercising. Further, if the springing mechanisms are located inside of a sliding assembly, the user is unable to easily access the springing mechanisms, should they wish to adjust the springing mechanism resistive force.
These apparatuses generally are difficult to adjust the resistive forces easily. Some of these apparatuses posses no variable resistive force whatsoever, thereby being of limited use to a user. Other apparatuses have a single spring or a plurality of springs that are an integral part of the sliding assembly and that are not designed to be easily adjusted or changed. These apparatuses don""t allow the user to increase or decrease the resistive force.
Some prior art apparatuses include adjustable resistive forces. These prior art apparatuses must be taken apart to access and change the resistive force. Other prior art apparatuses contain a chamber and a piston that comprise a closed system. These apparatuses"" resistive forces are adjusted by increasing or decreasing the pressure within the chamber prior to exercising.
Some apparatuses include a chamber for a gas and a piston that is connected to a handle with a lower support. In these apparatuses, a vent allows the gas to escape when the piston is forced through the chamber, thereby creating resistive force, but only in one direction. Once the compression stroke is completed, a user must reposition the piston within the chamber to refill the chamber with the gas.
Therefore, to minimize the risk of injury as well as achieve a greater level of comfort and control compared to that resulting from performing abdominal exercises while lying on the floor, there has been a need for an apparatus and/or technique whereby a person sitting in a chair or lying horizontal on the ground or floor can use the crunch motion while performing repetitions of exercises equivalent to sit-ups, rotary sit-ups and/or knee-ups, but while remaining within safe limits of stress to the back and to the abdominal muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,726 issued Sep. 10, 1991 to Willem J. Van Straaten discloses an apparatus in which a person sitting on a chair, standing, or lying on the back with knees bent, applies a pumping action to a plunger, compressing a spring in a cylinder positioned vertically between the thighs or pressed against the abdomen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,119 issued Dec. 10, 1991 to Martin W. Johnson discloses an apparatus in which a person sitting on a chair with the chin at the height of a horizontal pushbar attached to a vertical column pivotally supported on the floor places the arms over the pushbar and pushes down against the resistive force of a spring in the column, while twisting the upper portion of the body to the right and left, and then slowly allows the spring""s resistive force to push his trunk upward to resume the original upright position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,162 issued Sep. 5, 1989 to Neckamm et al. discloses a spring-loaded piston and cylinder assembly apparatus in which a transverse handle bar attached to a rod is pushed through the spring-loaded pipe. The pipe is attached at its lower end to a transverse support rod resting on the thighs of the user, the rod being slideably disposed within the pipe.
At the same time, the prior art designs did not consider the fact that users can more quickly and efficiently exercise their muscle groups by utilizing an increasing/decreasing quick change resistive force. Prior art abdominal exercise apparatuses are generally not capable of providing a resistive force that enable a user to quickly increase or decrease the resistive force on the exercise apparatus. Further, prior art designs had unwieldy handles that didn""t allow the muscle groups to be comfortably and effectively grasped, thereby allowing a user to comfortably use the exercise apparatus. Thus, it is evident that if the advantageous properties inherent in compact abdominal exercise apparatuses are to be enjoyed by the public, a significant advance in such compact abdominal exercise apparatuses is required.
The present invention advances the art and helps to overcome the aforementioned problems by providing a novel adjustable resistance mechanism that includes a connector assembly and a plurality of quick change elastic members. The compact abdominal exercise apparatus according to the invention provides a connector assembly comprising a first member and a second member that slide together and define a first line of motion. The compact abdominal exercise apparatus according to the invention includes a protective cover that fits over the connector assembly to keep the internal parts, including the connector assembly, from pinching the user during use. The compact abdominal exercise apparatus according to the invention provides an ergonomical apparatus that allows a user to exercise their abdominal muscles in either a sitting position or a supine position. Each of the above features is separately novel, and the novel combination of all the features results in a compact abdominal exercise apparatus that should be a welcome addition to a user""s exercise equipment stable.
The invention provides a compact abdominal exercise apparatus comprising: a lower body member adapted to engage a portion of the human body below the abdomen; an upper body member adapted to engage a portion of the human body above the abdomen; and an upper body member and lower body member connector assembly comprising: a first tube having a first tube proximal end and a first tube distal end; a second tube having a second tube proximal end and a second tube distal end, the second tube having a longitudinal slot; a first elastic anchor member attached to the first tube; a second elastic anchor member attached to the second tube; the lower body member attached to the proximal end of one of the first tube and the second tube and the upper body member attached to the proximal end of the other of the first tube and the second tube; and the first tube slideably fitting within the second tube with the first elastic anchor member extending through and longitudinally slideable within the slot and located farther from the one of the lower body support member and the upper body support member to which it is attached than the one of the lower body support member and the upper body support member to which it is not attached.
Preferably, the compact abdominal exercise apparatus further includes a first elastic member connected between the first elastic anchor member and the second elastic anchor member. Preferably, the first elastic member comprises an elastic cord. Preferably, the first elastic member comprises an elastic band. Preferably, the compact abdominal exercise apparatus further includes a second elastic member connectable between the first elastic anchor member and the second elastic anchor member. Preferably, the elastic support members comprise elastic cords. Preferably, the compact abdominal exercise apparatus further includes a protective cover substantially enclosing the connector assembly. Preferably, the compact abdominal exercise apparatus further includes an elastic member connectable between the first elastic anchor member and the second elastic anchor member, and wherein said protective cover includes an opening providing access to the elastic member. Preferably, the protective cover assembly is padded. Preferably, the lower body member is adapted to engage the front portion of the human thigh. Preferably, the upper body support member is adapted to engage a human hand.
In another aspect, the invention provides a compact abdominal exercise apparatus comprising: a forward thigh member adapted to engage the forward portion of the human thigh; an upper body member adapted to engage a portion of the body above the abdomen; a plurality of resilient cords; a lower body cord anchor; an upper body cord anchor; a constraint assembly connecting the lower body member and the upper body member; the constraint assembly permitting relative motion of the lower body member and the upper body member in a first direction along a line connecting the lower body member and upper body member and preventing relative motion of the lower body member and upper body member in directions perpendicular to the first direction; the constraint assembly including: a lower body support member rigidly connecting the lower body member and the lower body cord anchor; and an upper body support member rigidly connecting the upper body member and the upper body cord anchor; the lower body cord anchor located closer to the upper body member than the upper body cord anchor; and the resilient cords connectable between the lower body cord anchor and the upper body cord anchor. Preferably, the compact abdominal exercise apparatus further includes a protective cover substantially enclosing the constraint assembly and the cord anchors, the protective cover including an opening for accessing the cords.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a compact abdominal exercise apparatus comprising: a lower body member adapted to engage a portion of the human body below the abdomen; an upper body member adapted to engage a portion of the human body above the abdomen; a constraint assembly connecting the lower body member and the upper body member, the constraint assembly permitting relative motion of the lower body member and the upper body member in a first direction along a line connecting the lower body member and upper body member and preventing relative motion of the lower body member and upper body member in directions perpendicular to the first direction, the constraint assembly including a resistance mechanism resisting but not preventing relative motion of the lower body member and the upper body member in the first direction; and a protective cover substantially enclosing the constraint assembly. Preferably, the constraint assembly includes a resistance adjuster and the cover includes an opening providing access to the resistance adjuster. Preferably, the cover comprises a first piece and a second piece and a fastener for fastening the first piece to said second piece. Preferably, the cover comprises molded plastic.
The abdominal exercise apparatus according to the invention provides, for the first time, a compact abdominal exercise apparatus that achieves a quick change resistive force mechanism with a range of travel that is ideal for exercising the abdominal muscles. The plurality of elastic members adds efficiency to quickly increasing and decreasing the resistive forces of the invention. The molded cover adds comfort and security from the novel slotted connector assembly. Numerous other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.